Method for fabricating a sterling silver utensil



M 16 W. E. LAWRENCE, lR 3 319 495 METHOD FOR FABRICATING A STERLING SILVER UTENSIL Filed June 8, 1964 SOLDER.

/0 F55 FORM gg gig? i zgffgz CLEAN ORNAMENTATION United States Patent 3,319,495 METHOD FOR FABRICATING A STERLING SILVER UTENSIL Warren Edward Lawrence, Jr., Greene, R.I., assignor to Gorham Corporation, Providence, RI. Filed June 8, 1964, Ser. No. 373,458 5 Claims. (Cl. 76-105) This invention relates to methods and assemblies for the manufacture of sterling silver vessels and tableware and other such articles of manufacture, which will generally be referred to hereinafter as utensils. This invention also relates to other materials such as stainless steel and pewter, a well as to other articles of manufacture such as jewelry and the like.

It is a general object of the invention to provide improved methods and assemblies for the purpose of manufacturing utensils of the above-noted type.

- It is a further object of the invention to provide improved techniques for the manufacture of utensils whereby standard blanks and standard ornamentations may be individually fabricated and designed such that they are interchangeable.

' It is still a further object of the invention to facilitate the custom designing of utensils, jewelry and the like.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide for the use of mass production techniques and machine operations where such techniques and operations were heretofore unuseable.

Still another object of the invention is to provide for the inclusion of free standing ornamentation of various types which can be consistently and uniformly located and positioned in a large number of pieces.

Still another object of the invention is to provide for facilitating the cleansing of completed articles of manufacture, incorporating therein ornamentation of a complex nature.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide improved techniques whereby a base member of a utensil of the above-noted type may be subjected to standard cleansing operations whereafter there is added to the base member a decorative element such that the subsequent adding of the decorative element does not interfere with the cleansing of the base member.

In achieving the above and other of its objectives, there is contemplated in accordance with the invention the provision of a method which comprises prefabricating a base member of a material such as sterling silver, stainless steel and so forth for purposes of alternatively forming a utensil, piece of jewelry or the like and separately prefabricating a decorative element or the like having thereon a lug, the lug being inserted into the base member by means of a socket arranged therein along with a solder, the whole being treated at a temperature whereby the light tarnish or discoloration which is formed may subsequently be readily removed.

According to a feature of the invention, the socket and lug are given corresponding shapes such as to permit only a single predetermined alignment of the decorative element relative to the base member.

According to' a further feature of the invention, the base member is cleaned according to standard cleansing operations prior to the adding thereto of the associated decorative element.

Accordingto one aspect of the invention, there is contemplated' the provision of a pre-cleaned base member having therein a socket adapted for accommodating a lug on a decorative element, the lug being accommodated so as to permit a single relative positioning between the base member and the decorative element.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is contemplated the provision of decorative elements having thereon lugs adapted to fit into sockets provided in a base member according to the foregoing relationship.

According to still a further feature of the invention, it is contemplated that the positioning of the socket and lug be interchanged to the effect that the socket is provided on the decorative element whereas the lug is provided on the base member.

The aforegoing objects and features of the invention, as well as various advantages thereof, will appear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the acompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an assembly adapted to constitute an article of manufacture in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the base member illustrated in side view in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the decorative element inclusive of a lug as shown in side view in FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic flow diagram in accordance with which the sub-assemblies of FIGS. 13 are combined into a finished utensil in accordance with the invention.

The sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 comprise a base member 10 and a decorative element 12, both of which are diagrammatically illustrated.

The base member 10 may be fabricated, for example, of a material such as sterling silver, in which event said base member will be intended to constitute a component of a sterling silver utensil such as a silver vessel, tableware, flat ware, or the like. The material may also be such as pewter, brass, stainless steel and so forth.

It may be assumed, for purposes of illustration, that the base member 10 is to constitute the handle of, for example, a sterling silver fork, in which event the base member will be provided with the necessary characteristics for such purpose. It will be appreciated that the articles of manufacture are also within the scope of the invention such as hollow-ware, jewelry, mugs and so forth.

'It will be noted that the base member 10 is provided with a hole or socket 14, the purpose of which will be immediately hereinafter made apparent.

The decorative element 12 comprises :a main body 16 wherein is provided the decoration of any desired type no matter how complex or sophisticated. Depending from said body 16 is a prong or lug 18, the shape of which, as will be shown hereinafter corresponds to that of the socket 14.

Assuming, as has been done above, that the utensil to be manufactured is a sterling silver article of manufacture, all portions of the decorative element 12 will be made of sterling silver to conform with conventional requirements.

In FIG. 2 it is seen that the hole or socket 14 in the base member 10 is given a cross-section of predetermined configuration such as, for example, a trapezoidal form.

Correspondingly, it will be seen in FIG. 3 that the decorative element 12 is provided with a depending lug 18 which is also of trapezoidal configuration.

The size relationship between the socket 14 and the lug 18 is such that there may also be positioned in the socket 14 a predetermined amount of solder or the like which constitutes means for fastening the decorative element 12 to the base member 10. In practice, pieces of solder having a weight of ounce per piece have been employed and this has not been found sufficient to effect the sterling silver ratio which is required.

A series of experiments were run to determine the clearances for brass, sterling and stainless steel using 60-40 soft solder (60% tin, 40% lead) to join component parts of an assembly. The clearances were deter-,

mined by pre-fiuxing a tapered pin centered inside a tube heating to 600 F. and applying the solder to the joint. The assembly was cut longitudinally and the widest gap filled by the solder was measured in a microscope.

The clearances determined by this manner are as follows:

. Inches Brass -.0235 Sterling u 0- .011 Stainless steel 0..0056

configurations of socket 14 and lug 18 that these are' such that only a single predetermined relationship between the decorative element and the base member can result. This means that when the lug is inserted into the socket a single predetermined pattern is developed in accordance with the planned construction.

It will also be readily appreciated that since the base member is prefabricated independently of the decorative element any design desired may be placed on the base member 10 and thus it is possible to readily effect a so-called custom designing. I

It will also be readily appreciated that there may be any number of standard blanks developed to constitute base member 10 and any number of standard ornamentations to constitute decorative element 12 these being combinable in any interchangeable manner according to customer requirements.

The development of a technique'for employing the elements described above may best be visualized with reference to FIG; 4 wherein it can be seen that the base forms 10 are subjected to a standard cleaning operation prior to the incorporation thereon'of ornaments 12. Such standard cleaning'operation prior to soft soldering com prises vapor or solvent degreasing in trichlorethylene or perchlorethylene to remove oil and grease from the parts to be joined. This cleaning allows the soldering flux to reduce any metal oxides so that the molten solder can flow and properly join the parts.- Thus the form 10 may be subjected to mass production machine cleaning techniques without any fear of damaging the associated decor-.- ative elements, the ornamentation being added following the standard cleaning operations and being soldered thereto by the use of a standard soft solder such as 60-40,

solder as has been generally indicated above.

It has been found in practice that a heat treatment of between 350 and 650 F. may be employed, thus enabhng the utilization of a temperature range which has absolutely no effect on the strength or quality of the sterling or other such material employed. Time is not controlling in this operation and time periods for heat curing have been employed up to and including about 8 hours.

After the. ornamentation has .beenadded, such as has been indicatedv above, a slight discoloration or tarnishing may result in the vicinity, of the ornamentation or along the base member 10, but this discoloration or tarnishing is not of the nature which requires a standard cleaning operation such as the base form 10 is subjected to.

It has been wash or polishing of the completed item removes any stain discoloration acquired during the assembly or bonding operation, but the relatively simple cleaning operation which is required may be readily effected even though the decorative elements have been incorporated onto the base forms.

It will be appreciated that although the lug is preferably incorporated into the decorative elements so as to avoid the positioning of a protruding element on the base members 10 and therefore something which might interfere with the. standard cleansing operations, this ad-.

found that a final chemical cleansing or.-

' less than about 650 shapes such as .to permit vantage of the invention may perhaps be ignored under certain circumstances and the positions of the sockets and lugs be interchanged such that the lugs are provided on the base members 10 and the sockets in the decorative elements 12.

From the above. description it will now be understood that the invention facilitates the use of mass production cleansing techniques relative to the base members 10 and a subsequent adding to such base members of interchangeable decorativeelements which thus facilitates the custom designing of sterling silver utensils and the like in accordance with which any type of base member 10 may be combined with any type of standard decorative element 12.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications and variations of the methods and assemblies set forth above. These modifications and variations will not, however, depart from the scope of the invention if defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising prefabricating a base member of sterling silver for a' sterling silver utensil, forming a socket in and cleaning the base member, prefabricating a sterling silver decorative member, one of said members being provided with a socket and the other of said members including a sterling-silver lug, inserting said lug into said socket with a solder adapted to maintain a sterling silver ratio in said utensil and to flow at a temperature FL, heat treating the base member, decorative member and solder at a temperature of from about 350650 F., and removing the light tarnish which is formed; said socket and lug being given corresponding a single predetermined alignment of said decorative member'relative to said base member.

2. Amethod comprising prefabricating a base member of sterling silver for a sterling silver-utensil, forming a base member, prefabricatingsocket in and cleaning the a sterling silver decorative member, one of said members being provided with a socket and the otherof saidmembers including a sterling silver lug thereon,-

of'from about 350-650" F., and removing the light tarnish'which is formed.

3. A method comprising prefabricating a base memberof sterling silver for a sterling-silverutensil, forming a- Q socket in and cleaning the base member, prefabricatinga sterling silver decorative element with a sterling silver-lug thereon, inserting said lug into said socket with a solder adapted to maintain a sterling silver ratio in said utensil.

. and to flow at a temperature less than about 650 F'., and

' sterling silver heat treating the base member, decorative elementand solder at a temperature of from about 350650 F.

4. A method comprisingprefabricating a base member of'sterling -silver for a sterling silver-utensil, forming a socket in and cleaning the base member, prefabricatinga decorative element-with a sterling silver lug thereon, inserting said lug into said socket with a solder adapted to maintain a sterling silver ratio in said utensil and to flowat a temperature less than about 650 R, heat treatingthebase member, decorative element and solder at a temperature of from about350-650 F., and removing the light tarnish which is formed; said socket and lug being given corresponding shapes such as'to permit a -singlepredetermined alignmentof said decorative element-relative to said base member.

5.. A method comprising prefabricating a base member of sterling silver for a sterling silver utensiL forming a socket in and cleaning the base member, prefabricating a sterling silver decorative. element with a sterling silver lug thereon, inserting said lug into said socket with a inserting said lug into said socket with a solder adapted to maintain-a F., heat treating" the" base member, decorative member and-s0lder-at a temperature 5 6 F., heat treating the base member, decorative element and 1,931,243 10/1933 Wackman 29-4705 solder at a temperature of from about 350650 F., and 2,070,424 2/1937 Duncan 29470- removing the light tarnish which is formed. 2,646,698 7/ 1953 Storch 291O5 2,920,682 1/1960 Lindberg. References Cited by the Examiner 5 3,127,757 4/1964 Weiss 29470.5 XR

UNITED STATES PATENTS 11 7 1 71 Renz 29 470 5 XR GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, .TR., Primary Examiner.

654,042 7/1900 Young 29-470.5 

1. A METHOD COMPRISING PREFABRICATING A BASE MEMBER OF STERLING SILVER FOR A STERLING SILVER UTENSIL, FORMING A SOCKET IN AND CLEANING THE BASE MEMBER, PREFABRICATING A STERLING SILVER DECORATIVE MEMBER, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS BEING PROVIDED WITH A SOCKET AND THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS INCLUDING A STERLING SILVER LUG, INSERTING SAID LUG INTO SAID SOCKET WITH A SOLDER ADAPTED TO MAINTAIN A STERLING SILVER RATIO IN SAID UTENSIL AND TO FLOW AT A TEMPERATURE LESS THAN ABOUT 650*F., HEAT TREATING THE BASE MEMBER, DECORATIVE MEMBER AND SOLDER AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 350-650*F., AND REMOVING THE LIGHT TARNISH WHICH 